“MYTHOPOEIC”

What? Mystical, cosmological, sociological, pedagogical.

“What we call the beginning is often the end And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.…We shall not cease from exploration And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started And know the place for the first time.” T. S. Eliot, Four Quartets

We live the myth ceremonially or by our performing the ritual [the “doing”; rite is the “how to do”]: in one way or another, we “live” the myth in the sense that we are “seized by the sacred, exalting power of the events recollected or re-enacted.” –Eliade

Simple hand washing?

The Lavabo: Latin for wash (or bathe). In the ancient church, the priest would clean his hands after receiving gifts of oil, food, and other goods.

“When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, . . .he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. ‘I am innocent of this man’s blood,’ he said.” –Matthew 27:24 (NIV)

“Will all the water in the ocean wash this blood from my hands?” –Mrs. Macbeth

Surgical Hand Scrubs: “There is a standard procedure for surgical hand antisepsis, gowning, and gloving which is based on current evidence, best practice, and validated research.” –Every medical-surgical instruction manual.